The American Left and media love to hate the Tea Party. I'm not entirely certain if it's because they just don't understand what it's all about or if it's because they do. Either way, they know they hate them.
Patrick Gaspard, the Executive Director of the Democratic National Committee, sent out emails lamenting that "the Tea Party agenda [is] an agenda whose first item is to destroy Democrats no matter the consequences for our country." According to articles I've read just in the past week, they appear to think the Tea Party is "freaked out white people" who are racist, homophobic, abortion-banning, racist, fanatically religious creationist Christian... um... racist and... um.... At this point , it diverges into "poor white redneck trash who are too stupid to realize that government spending profits them" or "filthy rich white capitalists who are such evil geniuses that they are stealing money from the poor to line their own pockets". But, either way, they're definitely racist. I've seen blog after blog and "measured articles" by the boatload "exposing" tea party rally excerpts for the racist language cleverly encoded within (kind of like the so-called Bible Code, except requiring larger stretches of the imagination). There are detailed analysis of tea party members' pathological hatred of all things Obama... and therefore black in general. Maxine Waters made the statement that "the Tea Party can go straight to Hell." Frederica Wilson has warned that “[t]he real enemy is the Tea Party, let's remember that." Jesse Jackson went off on some bizarre tangent about how "Dr. King fought a 'tea party' in Alabama", equating people who opposed integration and civil rights with people who don't think they should have the money they worked for siphoned off to pay for "free stuff" for other people that haven't worked for it.
A side note here: I'm ironically amused by the fact that the last three comments were made by black leaders before the Congressional Black Caucus in a forum that was supposed to be about bringing jobs to the black community and were directed at a group that is most often described as "a bunch of racist white people". I'd say something about a pot and a kettle but use of the full expression might just be a subconscious indicator of my deep-seated racism.
I hate to break it to them but I have some inside information on the Tea Party, being that I've attended rallies and protests and personally support "the cause". Ready? You might want to sit down - it's a stunner. Okay. Here goes: There is no "Tea Party".
It's true. You aren't going to see "Tea Party" on a voter registration form. You aren't going to get spam from their national headquarters. You aren't going to send them annual dues and get a secret decoder ring. Because there is no "party" per se - there's just a basic idea that a lot of people agree with. This is such a foreign concept in American politics that most folks just don't seem to get it. They can't process it, won't accept it. It must be an offshoot or subdivision of the Republican party. Or maybe it's a hate group like the Klan. Their national leadership consists of Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann, Karl Rove and Glenn Beck (and possibly Satan). It's inconceivable that a large segment of the American public can get pissed off enough to collectively shout "Enough!" - but that's what happened.
Under Republicans, we're expected to be shamed into silence with, "If you oppose the bailout, the [terrorists will win/economy will collapse and families will have to devour each other] ." Under Democrats, we're expected to be shamed into silence with, "If you oppose the signing of a massive bill-we-haven't-read into national law, you [hate poor people/are racist]." But we're done being shamed with labels and whining. The Irish have a proverb: "Coimhéad fearg fhear na foighde." Beware the fury of a patient man. Well, we've run out of patience. There are a lot of very pissed off Americans who are tired of having the people who supposedly represent us mortgage future generations to bail out one group or another for their own selfish purposes.
Like any disparate population, you'll find a pretty big variety within the group. There are homophobic, racist, ignorant, and/or religious Tea Partiers. Some are poor. Some are "rich" (that term seems to keep getting redefined so I'll use quotes). Regional groups have coalesced around the country, each one adding its own spin to the basic tenet of spending cuts. Some are little more than Republican light - "stop wasting our tax money on Liberal causes but don't rock the boat on the Right". Some are more religious - "stop wasting our tax money, especially on abortion - which should be banned - and gay rights... because God said so". Some are extremely Libertarian - "stop wasting our tax money, reduce government to fourteen guys and recall all overseas troops from everywhere, forever." Guess what? It's doesn't make them wrong. Some are gay and some are Democrats and some are government workers and some are lawyers and some are actually even - gasp! - not white and they're standing with the "hate-filled, racist rednecks". Being angry at having your life's earnings pissed away against your will doesn't make you "filled with hate". Opposing the destructive, divisive, class-and-race-warfare policies of an incompetent hack of a president doesn't make you racist, even if he is half-black.
The Right is wisely shutting the hell up and letting this play out. Normally known for being able to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, the Republicans are afraid to publicly oppose the idea of simply not wasting money. Several opportunistic Republican leaders have even adopted a philosophy of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" and have begun to parrot some of the points hurled at returning lawmakers during enraged town hall meetings. Everyone wants to be "a Tea Party candidate" even when they also support Hogzilla-sized pork programs. But that's fine - we'll use you like you've used it.
The Left, however, is doing something even more interesting. They first tried dismissing us via ignoring the whole thing, not discussing the movement, not covering the marches and rallies. When they couldn't ignore us anymore, they moved to trivializing us through humor. "Teabagger" - get it? It's like a sex thing and that'll make us uncomfortable because we're all uptight religious Republicans! Ha! Get it?!? When nobody gave a shit and we kept talking, kept demanding, kept campaigning, they moved to subtle disapproval and intimations that we're a "hate group". Well... we are. We hate the waste, the bloated government, the arrogance of civil servants who think they've been elected to royalty. Now... they're starting to hate. They're freaking out because we have no infrastructure to attack, no single leader to character assassinate, no organization to infiltrate. We're just not... shutting... up. We've been mocked and called the worst things possible - racist! inflexible! - and we're still sticking to the same, stupid, uncompromising mantra: Stop wasting our tax money and, no, you can't have more.
We hate policies, they hate people. We want to talk about money, they can't stop talking about race. We see government involvement as unnecessary intervention which screws up everything and needs to be dialed back (whoever has to fend for themselves be damned); they see it as not only necessary but a morally mandated responsibility to tend to all their needs (whoever pays the bills be damned). We have irreconcilable differences and it's no surprise that they're seeing this movement as a threat to their way of life. We see them the same way.
Yep, there have been some strong words. Now, let me offer a few of my own. Patrick, you're on to me and my evil plan. I do want you destroyed mostly because you seem to believe that the role of government is to convince us how weak we are so that it can tend all our boo-boos and make everything "fair" (at the unfair expense of those who refuse to believe they really are helpless). Maxine, I'd offer a "ladies first" but that doesn't really apply to you, does it? If I'm pissing you off, I must be doing something right. Thanks for the encouragement. Frederica, yes, I am your enemy. In fact, I loathe you, not because of your political affiliation, your gender or the color of your skin but because you are a parasite and those like you have increased in numbers for generations at the cost of the nation's freedoms and financial security. I am your enemy the way a dog is an enemy of the fleas that infest it. And Jesse, if you want to call the Tea Party a repackaged KKK, grow a set and say it out loud instead of dancing around with your candy-assed wink-wink-nudge-nudge routine. But you'd better think closely about your comparison. The latter were victimizing their fellow Americans; the former are trying to keep their fellow Americans from victimizing them. Refusing to allow a child to enter a school or drink from a water fountain doesn't equate to not wanting to pay for the food, rent, medical care, wi-fi and cell phone for every spoiled sonofabitch that wants it in return for a vote. Oh and, p.s., you're a pig for using Doctor King's name to rubber-stamp your racist, victim-mentality claptrap for the last forty years.
Now... stop wasting our tax money and, no, you can't have more.
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